A Geek's Romance
by inosine
Summary: Benny discovers he's gay when he stumbles across something interesting in Ethan's browser history. Now Benny is on a mission to win Ethan over.
1. discovering the truth

**Hey so this is an idea I had and quickly threw into a story. Not beta'd so sorry for any missing words or wrong tenses or stuff. This chapter is just the set up, actual smut coming later (although I have some graphic bits that might warrant an M rating anyway). Oh and I realize some of the stuff Benny says about homosexuality is potentially offensive-sorry! I'm trying to convey his naivety. Please read and review!**

"If you don't get up here soon, I'm looking at your browser history!" Benny calls out the open door of Ethan's bedroom. It's a joke threat, but as soon Benny says it he finds himself curious.

Ethan is cleaning up the disastrous aftermath of his cooking experiment. Who knew why he had suddenly taken up cooking, but Ethan had decided he wanted to try making something fancy with his mom's recently purchased pressure-cooker.

A pressure cooker, as Ethan had explained earlier, was a pot that built up steam pressure which both lowered the necessary cooking temperature and shortened cooking time. To keep from literally exploding, pressure cookers have a safety release valve with a weighted cover that flies off if the thing becomes over pressurized.

What Ethan didn't realize was that after you were finished cooking, the pressure cooker took _forever_ to depressurize before you could open it. So after twenty minutes of waiting, Ethan became impatient and just pulled the weighted cover off.

At first it seemed like a good idea-it was just spitting out a lot of avoidable steam. Then began the geyser of boiling hot broth, forcing the boys into retreat to watch helplessly as dinner rained down on every surface of the kitchen: the walls, ceiling, counters, floor, and even a drawer that had been left open. When the cookware finally gave up its reign of terror, the pot roast was unaffected and delicious. Still Benny refused to help clean. So rarely was something not his fault.

"This would go faster if you helped!" Ethan calls back.

"Not on your life," Benny answers.

Instead, Benny scrolls down the list of sites in Ethan's browsing history, not really interested in the more respectable sites. _God dammit why does it have to list every image he looked at on Imgur._ Eventually Benny finds what he's looking for: porn. Not that Benny was going to unzip his pants in his best friend's bedroom, but he might email himself some links if any of Ethan's choices looked good.

"Coming up anytime soon?" Benny yells to be sure the coast is clear.

"No!" Ethan yells back, clearly exasperated. "I have to wash everything in this drawer! And the drawer!"

"Can you guys not yell across the entire house?" Jane hollers from down the hall.

It was just the three of them this Friday. After Sarah went off to college, the Morgans decided that their children no longer required a babysitter. Or they just didn't want to find a new one. Either way Jane spent Fridays alternatively complaining that the boys were irritating her, or begging to join them on their adventures. Tonight Jane wanted nothing to do with her brother or Benny.

"Sorry." Benny yells back at her closing Ethan's door.

Just to be safe, he turns the sound off on Ethan's desktop before clicking on the first Redtube link. It's a thumbnail gallery of available videos-not the videos Ethan has actually watched. _A lot of dicks though._ Porn included a lot of penis, unless you only watched lesbian porn, and Benny was used to that. Still they usually showed girls in the thumbnails.

Benny opens the next link, which is just the next page of the gallery, and this time it registers that he's looking at gay porn. Ethan watches gay porn. _Holy Fuck._ Benny quickly scans over the URLs of all the Redtube gallery pages, and yes they all include the word 'gay.' _So Ethan is gay-gay not just bi?_ Benny bites his thumb thoughtfully. He kinda thought Ethan would've told him something like that.

Benny closes the Redtube gallery pages-Ethan's computer screen faces the door meaning he'll have almost no warning when Ethan walks in. It'll be better to have as few incriminating pages open as possible.

Undeterred by the graphic imagery, _how can an entire arm fit up a guy's ass?_, Benny continues his investigation of Ethan's porn habit. Perservely finding out Ethan's gay only makes Benny more curious about his friend's sexuality. Does he want to be the guy or to uh take it? That's how gay sex works, right? Is Ethan into any weird kinky stuff?

Benny looks at the titles of the videos Ethan opened. He has no way of knowing if Ethan actually watched the video once he opened it, but he can glean some information from the titles that interested Ethan.

'Classmates doing IT in the locker room.' Seemed like a mostly vanilla fantasy, could even be a hetero porn title-there was the chance of getting caught though.

'It's Love to Me.' _Oh man what a sap._

'Young Guy Blindfolded Sex.' _Blindfolds are definitely kinky._

'Slave Boot Camp/Training' _Annnd that takes the cake._ Benny isn't sure what that entails and he isn't sure he wants to know.

Benny hits 'older' on the history page. There are more Redtube pages, but Ethan had also opened Facebook. Benny knows what that means-jerking it off to a hot girl-guy's swimsuit pictures.

'facebook . com' _Just navigating to the page._

' facebook benny-weir ?fref=ts' _Uh..._

' facebook benny-weir/photos' _Oh._

Benny sat staring at the 'Photos of Benny' page. His best friend got off to pictures of him. What... What did he do with this information? Like should he feel violated? Benny had certainly never caught Ethan perving on him. But... Now that Benny thought about it there were several times when Ethan caved after relatively little effort on Benny's part.

Yesterday Benny had pretended to wilt from hunger (hanging onto Ethan's arm for support) and had been immediately rewarded with half of Ethan's cookie. Last weekend Ethan had agreed to Benny's movie choice after merely showing him the awesome movie poster (well having first grabbed his hand to drag him over to said poster). If Benny could harness this power, there's no telling what he could get Ethan to do. Maybe he could finally get him to put a chipmunk filter on the school PA system!

And even if it was only Ethan, someone thought he was hot.

Benny clicks open the actual pictures of himself that Ethan had viewed during his porn session. Surprisingly Benny was fully clothed in all of them. And they were kinda shitty pictures to be honest. Like this blurry picture of Benny at school. He's looking just past the camera with arm reaching past wherever the camera was. He looks like a tool with his stupid smug smile. When was that even taken?

Benny thinks he hears something bang in the hall. Paranoid, he closes all of the Redtube porn tabs. If Ethan barges in now, Benny should be able to close the tab with Ethan's browser history without switching to it. Then all Ethan would see is Benny looking at photos of himself on Facebook. Coincendently all ones Ethan had looked at while masterbating. Totally innocent.

Okay so what did Ethan think was hot in these pictures? This one Benny was reaching to get his kite out of the tree, exposing his stomach. _Showing some skin, okay that makes sense._ What else? God he was making that shit-eating grin in all these pictures. And in this one he was biting his lip. Wait maybe that was it. Big idiotic smiles and lip-biting. Those were tools he could work with. And losing his shirt somehow if he needed to pull out the big guns.

Benny hears foot steps on the staircase and quickly closes all incriminating tabs. Not a moment too soon.

"Having fun not cleaning?" Ethan asks bitterly as he walks into his bedroom.

"You have no idea," Benny says cryptically. "Now let the real fun begin: Magic Ninja Knights II or Zombie Racecars Mashup?" He asks swiveling the computer chair around.

"Magic Ninja Knights," Ethan answers pulling a second chair next to Benny. Benny starts up the game, handing Ethan one of the game controllers already plugged into his computer tower. He accepts the controller smiling his gratitude. _Okay Ethan is cute._

Knowing that Ethan would say yes if Benny asked him out, Benny wonders if he wants that. His lips would be just as soft as a girl's, right? And they basically spend all their time together, even doing 'date' things like eating out and seeing movies alone together.

While their save file is loading, Benny leans over and smells Ethan's hair. Ethan, eyes on the screen, starts at the unexpected contact and tries to pull back and face Benny. "What are you doing?" Ethan asks as Benny uses a hand to hold Ethan in place while he continues smelling him.

"You smell delicious," Benny answers trying to add a flirty note to his voice.

"Y-yeah?" Ethan asks. He's stilled under Benny, hands fiddling with the controller.

"Mmm just like pot roast," Benny explains, taking one last sniff before releasing Ethan. He does vaguely smell like pot roast, but mostly it was an excuse to press his face into Ethan's hair.

"Oh, must've gotten broth in my hair when the pressure cooker was exploding." Ethan runs a free hand through his hair self-consciously and rubs the fingers together checking for stickiness.

His ears are vibrant red and he smiles nervously when Benny catches his gaze. A warm fizziness pools in Benny's gut seeing Ethan react and knowing why. He's special to Ethan.

Oh, better thought. Rather than ask Ethan out, step up his flirting game until Ethan asks him out. _Bonus watching Ethan squirm is adorable and hilarious._ It's times like these when Benny's genius really shows.


	2. slow torture

**Thanks for the reviews! I love hearing what you think, and it really keeps me going! Hopefully this chapter isn't too slow for you guys; I'm indulging in fluff. FYI, I'm planning about 5 chapters in total, updating weekly. Please Read & Review!**

Ethan sighs. Benny doesn't realize how he makes Ethan's life hell. Wonderful sexy hell. Case in point, Benny is leaning against the lockers begging Ethan with his large pouting lips and dark brows pitifully wrinkled. Ethan gives him a hard stare back, hoping his conviction lasts.

"Pleeeeease," Benny bites his lip exaggerating the pout.

Ethan blanks for a moment; his mind helpfully suggests that Benny's lips would feel incredible if kissed. "Yeah, okay. But if we get caught I'll..." There's no threat Ethan would actually carry out. "It'll be your fault." Resigned Ethan closes his locker.

"Yes!" Benny straightens up and the boys head out to lunch. "You won't regret it E. They have the best tacos!" Going off campus for lunch seemed trivial, but only seniors were allowed the privilege. This could land them in detention.

Benny shoulder bumps him, eliciting a genuine smile from Ethan, "Come on cheer up."

Would it be considered ironic that Benny fails miserably flirting with girls, but his mere existence drives Ethan insane? Or is it just tragic coincidence? At least no one suspects Ethan of either being gay or being in love with Benny. _Deeply, hopelessly, painfully in love with Benny._

Last summer when Ethan recognized his feelings for the gangly spell caster, it had been frighteningly overwhelming: overly aware of Benny's physical presence; silently chanting in his head, '_touch me, kiss me, touch me, kiss me;_' hanging on every word he said but not processing the meaning. That Benny missed the change in Ethan's behavior was a miracle.

Months later, Ethan's emotions remain intense, but only episodically. Manageably. Admittedly he had had to step up his masturbation schedule, and when Benny got especially flirty Ethan just kinda froze, but for the most part he could just hang out with Benny like normal. For the most part...

**Wednesday.** Ethan ambles down the stairs for breakfast, already ready for school. Benny is at the kitchen island eating cereal with Jane. Mom is cutting bananas into Jane's bowl.

"Good morning sweetie, sleep well?" Mom asks brightly.

"Yeah sweetie, sleep well?" Benny echos mockingly with an impossibly wide toothy grin, mirth in his eyes.

_Why is Benny here?_ His brain has no answer. "Yeah," Ethan answers them both while fixing his own cereal. Bringing his bowl to sit next to Benny, Ethan points out, "My house is further from school than yours."

"I finished my chores faster than I thought I would, so I had some extra time. Where else would I go?" Benny answers and upturns his cereal bowl into his mouth. A little dribble of milk escapes.

"Did you not eat at home?" Ethan asks. Even to his own ears, he sounds a little hostile—he's compensating for not having his guard up yet. Sleepy Ethan wants to rest his head on Benny's shoulder.

"I've had one, yes. This is second breakfast," Benny says in a hobbit voice. Ethan snorts, accepting Benny's movie reference as a reasonable explanation.

"That's very responsible of you Benny to do your chores in the morning. Ethan doesn't always get around to his chores." Mom shoots him a disapproving look.

Ethan holds his hands out incredulously. He's done nothing, recently, to warrant a reprimand.

Benny wipes his mouth off on the back of his hand, "Uh well really it's just that some of our herbs have to be gathered and prepared at specific times of day." Benny explains, perhaps a little too honestly.

"That's interesting," Mom says.

"No it's not," Jane disagrees.

Mom tuts Jane before picking up her train of thought again, "What herbs do you harvest in the morning?"

"Uh..." Benny stalls. "Oregano?" Ethan tries not to laugh at Benny's expressive face contorting into minor panic.

"I didn't know Evelyn grew oregano. Do you think she would give me some? I've heard cooking with fresh herbs tastes so much better." Mom continues imposing on her teenage son's social life.

"Sorry Mrs. Morgan, Grandma's herbs aren't really good for cooking," Benny says as way of an excuse. Mom quirks her head in confusion but seems to buy it. Jane, however, shoots the boys a knowing look; hopefully she won't demand anything more on top of their standing deal for her general silence.

"E are you almost done we should get going." Benny says, getting up to put his dish in the sink. Ethan starts shoveling cereal into his mouth faster. "Oh, your tag is out." Benny comments from behind Ethan.

Ethan shrugs, not really caring. But then Benny's warm fingers brush against the back of his neck. Ethan's skin burns with the contact and persists tingling after the touch ends.

He locks up to prevent from reacting to the innocent touch. With Benny at the sink, facing away, Ethan let's himself rub his neck—as if verifying that just happened. Benny spins around precisely at that moment, and catches Ethan's gaze with a knowing smirk. Ethan half chokes on his mouthful of cereal, shocked and embarrassed. _He doesn't know, right?_

Jane rolls her eyes and Mom gives him a concerned look, but they don't seem to pick up on why Ethan choked. Thankfully.

Benny chuckles, "You gotta chew there, dude."

Ethan could _not_ let himself read into Benny's antics. Despite the timing, Ethan had a pretty good idea what Benny was actually thinking about: A) something stupid that would get them into trouble, or B) food. Still... Maybe Ethan was imagining it, but it seemed like Benny was getting flirtier.

**Friday.** Rory will not back down, "I'm sorry Ethan, but you'd totally be an NPC." Rory eats human lunch everyday now so he can spend more time with his girlfriend, Elizabeth.

"What's an NPC?" Elizabeth asks interjecting timidly into what was a heated discussion by geek standards.

"Sorry babetron," Rory combs his fingers through her hair. "NPCs are characters that don't do anything," he explains.

"That seems like a mean thing to call someone," Elizabeth says frowning at Rory.

"No! Ethan would be a cool NPC. Like when you escort a civilian through a hostile area so they can complete a mission objective," Rory clarifies, pointing into the distance and wrapping an arm around Elizabeth's shoulders, as if he was actually showing her something in the distance.

"Great so you just spend the whole time worrying that I'm going to die," Ethan laments. The sleeves on his shirt are too long and Ethan accidentally drags one through applesauce.

"Do you really think I wouldn't worry about my main amigos? Without vampire-ninja you guys would totally be dead," Rory answers frankly.

"_What?_" Elizabeth asks confused, but there's an undertone of irritation in her voice.

Benny presses his forehead into the side of Ethan's head, lightly breathing words into his ear, "Are we seriously still lying to Elizabeth?" It's not particularly discreet but Ethan's pretty sure she wouldn't be able to make out the words.

Feeling shivery, Ethan nods. Dumbly he pulls his sleeve out of his mouth, realizing he was still sucking on it. His ears are burning—he hopes they aren't noticeably red.

Benny brightly provides an explanation to cover for Rory, "Oh well Ethan really sucks at video games. And Rory always plays a vampire or ninja or something like that." Benny's 'trustworthy' smile isn't helping to sell the story. But Elizabeth merely resettles in her chair, begrudgingly placated.

"But... I think Ethan would be a rogue," Benny proposes, "He's light and agile and has long fingers," Benny grabs Ethan's hand, splaying Ethan's fingers against his own in demonstration.

For a moment Ethan's mind hyper-focuses on the way Benny's skin feels, soft and warm, not processing anything else around him. He misses the rest of what Benny says. Refocusing, Ethan self-consciously pulls his hand back, having rested in Benny's palm awkwardly long. _If I could hold his hand for real._

"But Ethan can't pick locks," Rory argues. _Long fingers = lock picking. Rogues know lock picking. Okay, back on track._

"I bet Ethan could do it if he tried. He's really good with his hands." Benny's voice lilts deeper on the second part.

"Be right back. Uh.. bathroom," Ethan excuses himself, pushing away from the table. He hears Benny laugh as he walks away. What demon gave Benny the idea that gay innuendo was hilarious?

**Friday night.** Ethan heads upstairs to his room after finally convincing Benny he couldn't spend the night. His excuse was that they wouldn't actually sleep if Benny stayed over, which was true. The two usually ended up playing video games until well past 3am.

Of course smartass Benny had replied, "But, I really want to sleep with you." At which point Ethan had wordlessly shoved him out of the door.

In his bedroom, Ethan strips off his clothes and pulls on pajama pants. This would be the third time today he had masturbated. Once during his morning shower, a super quick emergency jack-off at lunch, and now.

Lying back in his bed, Ethan recalls earlier in the evening when they were watching TV together. Benny had decided to make popcorn during a commercial break (as he basically lived here Ethan paid him no favors). After sticking the bag in the microwave, Benny had run back in and precariously stationed himself behind the couch, apparently wanting to watch commercials, or else he had been worried he'd miss the show.

Out of nowhere Benny's hands had descended on Ethan's shoulders and began absently massaging him. Thankfully Ethan had had enough presence of mind to limit his reaction to surprise.

Benny disappears to retrieve popcorn and Ethan had thought that would be the end of it. But when Benny came back, he had shoved Ethan onto the floor, telling him, "If you sit on the floor I'll keep rubbing your shoulders. You're super tense. You need it."

Ethan had complied, resettling on the floor with his back against the base of the couch. Benny had moved to sit directly behind him, bordering Ethan with his legs. His immense hands had smoothly pressed into Ethan's muscles. He had so much strength in his hands, but his strokes were measured and careful.

At that point Ethan was feeling so melty, he hadn't made his token complaint when Benny had slipped his fingers under the collar of Ethan's shirt.

Instead of the back rub ending, Ethan envisions Benny's hands sliding off his shoulders (minus Ethan's shirt) forward onto his chest, slowly and purposefully. Ethan mimics the imagined movement with his own hands. Benny would pull Ethan back on to the couch and into his lap, so his capable hands would have better access. Ethan imagines that Benny would nuzzle Ethan's hair, his heated breath tickling Ethan's ear like when he had been whispering at lunch.

Ethan begins palming himself through his boxers. Next Benny would wrap an arm around Ethan's chest in a gently restraining half-hug. The first hand would slide down further into Ethan's pants and softly graze Ethan's hardon. Ethan groans, doing the motion to himself.

What would Benny say? 'You like that? What about this?' Benny would then curl his fingers around Ethan's shaft. Benny's hands were a full knuckle longer than Ethan's; he could only imagine how amazing it would feel to be completely held like that. Benny would stroke up slowly, keeping his hold loose. "You want more, don't you?" He would tease.

Maybe he would make Ethan beg. Benny would keep his touch light until Ethan was babbling with desire. Only then would Benny tighten his grip and increase the speed, "Feels better doesn't it?"

Ethan keeps his strokes even indulging in the fantasy. He remembers how Benny's touch made him feel. Like liquid fire pouring into his body and pooling in his groin. He pictures Benny's wide slightly crooked smirk and glinting eyes.

Ethan speeds his hand up imagining Benny holding him in his lap. Holding him tighter as Ethan arches his back with pleasure. Maybe Benny would whisper sweet encouragements: 'I love to watch you like this;' 'I want you to come for me.' Ethan needs to keep quiet. The idea of waking his family up doing _this_ was mortifying. But would Benny want him to be quiet?

Ethan orgasms replaying Benny's last words of the night, 'But, I really want to sleep with you.'

The afterglow is always tinged with loneliness. Ethan tries to hold onto the fantasy as he cleans himself up. Maybe Benny would hold him close, rubbing circles into his chest and arms, and reassure Ethan of how much he cared for him. _Fuck how much longer can I keep deceiving myself._


	3. almost seduction

**I've discovered I enjoy writing from Benny's POV better. Also that I wanted to add so much to this chapter it was messing with the pacing, sigh. I don't anticipate any delays with posting the next chapter next week, but that is Thanksgiving week here in the US. So apologies in advance if I'm late!**

**Special thanks to Bethan Forever, who has commented on both my chapters so far. The 'whole arm up a guy's butt' thing came from some research I did. I um wanted to know what real porn titles are like. The answer: not creative. I'm giving Ethan a bit of a submission kink, but I don't know how much that will manifest when they finally have sex. We'll see ;-)**

**As always please read & review!**

Benny considers the door in his face. Clearly his technique was missing something, not that he wasn't enjoying every moment of tormenting Ethan.

Ethan's neck and upper back have some nice musculature. And he becomes more receptive later into the night. Ethan kept emitting happy little grunts as Benny rubbed his neck while leaning—daresay cuddling—against Benny's leg. Benny was basically half-hard the whole time. He could easily imagine eliciting those same noises from Ethan undressed. Ethan had even treated Benny to a dreamy smile in response to his suggestive innuendo. _And yet he still kicked me out._

Benny walks up onto his own porch, placing his finger over the embossed rose in the middle of the door knob. He recites, "_Reintrare me._" Grandma had replaced the mechanical locks with protection circles—she said Benny needed all the practice he could get. He hears the lock click and opens the door.

Benny heads to his room to boot up his computer. He records all of Ethan's reactions in the Seduce-Ethan spreadsheet, hoping to improve his game. The data was all qualitative, but Benny had deduced some trends.

Inappropriate jokes were satisfying, but typically met with kicks, punches, or Ethan running off. Or shoving him out the front door. Properly timed eye contact rendered powerful results, but shy Ethan did not make eye contact. Lip-biting basically guaranteed Ethan would cave to whatever Benny wanted. _But what I want **is **Ethan._

Benny spins in his chair, willing ideas to enter his head. Maybe he should just go all out and really sex it up? He wants to, but how far can he push before Ethan sees through his ploy? _Maybe I want Ethan to figure it out._ After all Ethan would be more likely to ask him out.

* * *

><p>Benny flops onto the kitchen stool, dramatically whining, "I am so tiiiiiiiiiiiiiired."<p>

Grandma had press ganged Benny into helping her with the annual batch of healing salve. As a child Benny hadn't realized that the smelly cream Grandma rubbed on his boo-boos magically sped healing, despite the odd tingling. Benny had been an amazingly unobservant child.

Now Benny uses the stuff frequently on himself, Ethan, and any other humans drawn into supernatural shenanigans. He just didn't think it would be so much work to make it. After several hours of harvesting the herbs, crushing seeds and mouse bones into powder, and finally stirring the increasingly viscous liquid in the sweltering heat of the workroom, Benny was legitimately exhausted.

"What are you making?" Benny inquires in way of conversation—it was obvious Ethan was rolling cookie dough into balls, the long sleeves of his purple shirt scrunched up to his elbows. Benny likes the color against Ethan's pale skin, it makes his dark hair and eyes pop.

"Chocolate chip cookies, except instead of chocolate chips I'm using chopped up peanut butter cups." Ethan replies.

Benny perks up, "Peanut butter cup cookies _I_ can eat?" Honestly Benny will find a way to steal at least one, even if Ethan says no.

"Yeah. Actually, I'm making them for you." Benny's reaction must convey his surprise because Ethan continues, "You seemed so down about having to spend all day helping your grandma make potions, so I decided to make cookies to cheer you up." Ethan smiles nonchalantly. _Best almost-boyfriend ever._

Benny leans over the counter and scoops raw dough from the bowl when Ethan looks away. Ethan gives him a wide-eyed 'don't' glare when he catches Benny eating it.

"They're for me, right?" Benny justifies.

"I'll let you have the bowl once I'm finished," Ethan compromises.

"I was actually making Cutisalutem," Benny remarks on Ethan's earlier comment, "which is an enchanted salve not a potion." After two and half years, Benny was finally getting some of the finer points of magic.

"Is that an important difference?" Ethan asks. "What did you call it? It sounded like cootie-salad."

"_Cutisalutem,_" Benny emphasizes the pronunciation; "Enchanted salves do normal things but better. Potions do completely magical things, like bring a dead dog back to life." Ethan frowns, making Benny regret bringing up the dog incident. "Cutisalutem is the stuff we use on minor burns, bruises, cuts, and scrapes."

"Oh, the tingly cream?" Ethan asks, rubbing built up cookie dough off his fingers and putting it back in the bowl.

"Tingly cream? Is that what you've been calling it in your head?" Benny teases. Benny used to call it 'owie cream.' A long time ago. Until like last year.

"Yes." Ethan admits sheepishly. "Can't we come up with English names for stuff we use all the time?"

"Okay, from here on out cutisalutem is tingly cream." Benny answers mischievously.

"Not funny!" Ethan protests. He's almost done with the cookies, scraping the bowl with his hand for the last of the dough.

"Too late dude, you named it!" Benny laughs. He's not letting up on this one.

After placing the last cookie dough ball on the baking sheet, Ethan passes over the bowl as promised. Benny impulsively snags Ethan's wrist. The bowl clatters onto the counter.

Walking around the kitchen island, he brings Ethan's hand up to his mouth. Ethan looks confused but doesn't resist. Acting quickly, Benny envelopes two of Ethan's fingers fully in his mouth. Ethan gasps.

As potent as a magic spell, Ethan is struck still. His ears and whole face turn painfully red. Holding the seer's gaze, Benny sucks and tongues cookie dough off Ethan's fingers. All he can taste is the cookie dough, sweet and a little bit salty from the peanut butter. It gets his mouth slobbery. And Ethan's fingers are arguably less clean. Ethan's pupils are blown out. His mouth gapes trying to form words.

"You made it for me," Benny says overly innocently, wiping spit off his mouth. Benny sincerely wants to grab Ethan's face and angle him into a kiss. _Stay on track._

A little incoherent, Ethan babbles, "Wha-what? Oh, the, the cookie dough." Ethan shakes his head to regain control, pulling his hand out of Benny's loose grip. "Ugh Benny," Ethan gripes, "What would possibly make you think it's a good idea to just stick people's hands in your mouth?"

"I bet I could fit your whole hand in my mouth." Benny boasts, dodging the question. _That's sexy, right?_

"Right. Well, Jigglypuff, let's not test that." Ethan says turning away to wash his hands. He's still red and flustered.

Benny grabs the bowl to placate himself with cookie dough scraps. Either Ethan has a powerful amount of self control or really thinks a straight guy would suck his fingers.

* * *

><p>Chirp-zzzzz-chirp. Benny rouses from light morning sleep to check the notification on his phone. It's an email from Ethan <em>He's up early for a Sunday.<em>

"B— Need pic of spell diagram with skull and stars. 75% sure it's a sleeping spell. Know the one? I think I saw it in my dream. —E"

Benny knows exactly the diagram Ethan means. It's an aggressive knock-out spell that inflicts a mild concussion. _Not a great sign Ethan's dreaming of that._

"_Afferte mihi librum incantamenta,_" Benny intones lazily. His grimoire appears on his pillow. Benny pulls the pillow out from under the book, using it to prop himself up on his elbows. Benny flips through the pages. The more clarity he has concerning what he's looking for, the quicker he seems to find it. He figures there is an enchantment on the book.

_There it is._ Creepy, the diagram also features blood droplets. Benny snaps a picture with his phone. Hitting reply on Ethan's email, Benny types out, "Spell = knockout + concusion. Serious shit. Did ur dream seem bad?"

Benny attaches the picture of the diagram, it came out pretty clearly. With his thumb hovering over send, inspiration strikes Benny with an idea so stupid it can't fail. First, he needs a wrong picture to send 'by accident.'

Benny shoves the book off his bed, letting it clunk haphazardly onto the floor. Magic books were incredibly sturdy. Benny's shirt follows. He even kicks his covers over the side of the bed.

On his back, Benny shimmies his boxers halfway down his butt. His manhood happily pops out. This picture needs to be impressive though, so Benny takes the time to stroke himself to full mast. Which is instantly. He's instantly throbbing hard imagining Ethan pleasuring himself to the picture he's about to take.

Benny snaps a couple of shots. He doesn't have the discipline to take his hand off his dick, but you can still see most of it. Satisfied, Benny quickly jerks himself to completion. Ejaculate lands all the way up his chest. _Ugh gross._ Benny Jr. isn't normally a missile launcher. He wipes himself down with the discarded shirt, and let's himself just breath for a second.

Opening his email reply again, he replaces the original picture of the spell diagram with his dick-pic. It's cropped at his shoulders because Benny is making some kind of dumb expression in all of the pictures. Benny looks back over his email. _Do I really want to send this?_

Send.

Benny waits a couple of minutes for a reply. Nothing. Actually, it's probably good that Ethan isn't replying right away. Smiling, Benny gets up to take a shower.

* * *

><p>Shedding his towel for a clean pair of boxers, Benny hears the chirp-buzz of his phone.<p>

"Benny check the pic you sent me. You should be more careful with those kinds of pictures! —E"

Benny frowns. Of course Ethan wouldn't sound aroused or flustered over email, but Benny's heart twinges in disappointment anyway.

Opening up chat, Benny types out "Haha oops that was a HUGE mistake :-p"

What else can he say? Benny thinks for a moment before continuing, "I didn't mean to SHAFT u w/ the wrong pic like that :-p It'll take me a LONG time to get over the embarassament :-p" Benny laughs, amused by this own jokes.

Ethan replies, "0_o I thought you would take this more seriously. Also I get the puns, you don't have to capitalize them."

Benny racks his brain for another one. "I hope its not 2 hard for you 2 forgive me :-P B-)"

Benny retrieves his jeans from the floor. They're still clean enough. Plus the belt is already threaded through the belt loops. Benny pulls them on.

Ethan replies, "Fine... To use an old expression, it was quite the boner, and your apology sucks, but I'm too much of a softie to hold it against you."

"Haha you win! :-D" Benny answers, "Sending actual pic now." Benny sends the picture in an email titled 'spell disgram for realz.' Benny randomly selects a shirt from his closet to wear; by design all his shirts were fashionally equivalent.

Back in the chat window, "I has m0ar chores today. Come over and keep me company?"

"Yeah okay, give me an hour," Ethan answers. Benny heads downstairs to scavenge breakfast before Ethan comes over.

* * *

><p>Benny is chopping up mandrake root into small cubes when he hears Ethan open the front door. Benny calls out that he's in the kitchen. Grandma had set the house spells to automatically let the Morgans in. It's a precaution; the house itself will protect them if something bad happens. In the meantime, Ethan doesn't bother knocking anymore.<p>

Ethan sets his book bag down heavily on the kitchen floor, he looks a little conflicted. "Benny we need to talk."

Benny has a panic moment, "I didn't do it." _Did I?_ "Probably."

"Benny I just want you to be safe." Ethan starts. Benny cocks his head in confusion. "The picture. The um..." Ethan falters.

"The dick pic," Benny finishes for him.

"Yeah. You can't send stuff like that to people. You don't know they're going to do with it," Ethan eyes are fiercely serious.

"Well I hope they masturbate to it." Benny says smiling.

_Ka-chunk._ Mandrake root is hard to cut. The center is near bone tough, resulting in the knife slamming against the cutting board when he finally pushes through. He has to be careful where his fingers are when he does this.

Wrong answer. Ethan's stare shifts from worried to angry. "Benny! This isn't funny."

"Sorry?" Benny understands Ethan's concerns, but not why _he's_ so concerned. "I did crop out my face. Even if someone posted the picture online no one would know it's me."

"Great but the photos are on your phone, and you accidently attached it to an email." Ethan seems honestly distressed. "And if someone went swimming with you they might be able to tell it's you."

Benny sets the knife down. Benny isn't good at serious and he isn't good at comforting people. He especially doesn't know how to reassure someone who is worried about his safety. _The truth would work..._

"Uh... I haven't actually sent it to anyone but you." Benny admits.

He's about to continue his confession, but Ethan interrupts, "So you chickened out?"

_That is a good lie._ "Uh-huh, yep, totally chickened out," Benny nods enthusiastically.

"Okay good," Ethan seems to deflate. He nods. He opens his mouth again, and this time Benny knows his best friend is devolving into rambling, "I just want to know that you know—"

Benny grabs Ethan's shoulders, turning his friend to face him, "I know."

"I mean if you did send—" Benny puts a finger across Ethan's lips shushing him. _This feels nice._ Benny leans forward touching his forehead against Ethan's.

"It was just you and I trust you," Benny says the words softly. His pointer finger and four inches of space separate Benny from kissing this caring, sweet, soft—

"Benny!" Grandma calls from doorway. Ethan jumps back, leaving Benny's hand hanging in the air. "Get over here," she commands.

Benny begrudgingly follows his grandmother. She leads him all the way out to the garden. Her silence makes Benny nervous.

"I didn't mean to do it," Benny blurts out preemptively.

"Mm-hm." Grandma quirks her eyebrows at him, picking up shears from her bright blue tool bucket. "That boy would jump your bones in half a second if he believed you really meant all those flirty things you keep doing."

"Grandma!" Benny yelps indignantly. _So many things wrong with what's happening right now._

"You may think I'm too old to notice these things," Grandma begins sniping dead flower bunches off a large butterfly bush. "But you aren't exactly subtle Benny. And I know what a 'dick pic' is by the way." Grandma shoots him a pointed glare.

Benny squirms, "Can we not talk about this please? Like ever!"

"Just one piece of advice, stop stringing that poor boy along and just tell him how you feel. And failing that focus more on romance and less on sex."

"Yes ma'am." Benny squeaks. He would do anything to make this talk end. "Can I go now?"

"Yes, dear." Grandma waves a dismissal. As Benny retreats, he catches his grandmother mumble, "Gaia knows two teenage boys won't have any trouble with sex."

Ethan is working on a school assignment he brought with him. "Did you get in trouble?" he asks. _And back to normal._

"Maybe?" Benny answers honestly uncertain. He considers Ethan scribbling down an answer. Benny has no idea how to romance someone.


	4. when do I get a kiss?

**Oh goodness. I gave myself writer's block with how I ended that last chapter. Next chapter will be up on 12/11. Thanks everyone for reading. It's been very exciting to receive so much positive feedback! :-D**

**Special thanks to my reviewers:**

**MBAV Fan: I'm glad your enjoying the drama! **

**Bethan Forever: I swear I can hear you squee when I read your reviews. You're amazing! Here is Benny romancing Ethan, to the best of his ability, and then starting to figure out he needs to be dominant. No phone this chapter, but maybe next chapter...**

**Century's Rain: OMG high praise! My main goal is good character, so to hear you say that means a lot :-) I hope I can live up to your expectations.**

**Summer: Thanks! **

**Jadex: Thank you! I'm glad the mood and romance is coming through. **

* * *

><p>"I have something for you," Benny sing-songs to Ethan, holding a small envelope between two fingers.<p>

Ethan takes the envelope and inspects the outside, which reads 'Ethan' inside a red heart. It's printed onto the envelope with a really curly script because Benny didn't trust his handwriting.

"Who gave this to you to give to me?" Ethan asks, tearing open the envelope.

Benny blinks in amazement; Ethan just gave him an out. Obviously the smart move would be to confess anyway.

"Uh... I don't know if I should tell you." Benny blurts out. _Dammit!_

He receives a half-hearted glare for withholding information before Ethan unfolds the note and starts reading. Benny watches Ethan's eyes dart back and forth. His expression shifting from curious to awestruck.

_Rose are typically red  
><em>_Violets are never blue  
>So you're a boy<br>__And I'm one too_

_The hulk sure can smash  
>The flash is crazy fast<br>Seeing you smile  
>Puts my cock at full-mast<em>

_Kirk. Is. Old. School.  
>Yoda speaks all funny<br>For you, love has, of me, made a fool_

Ethan self-consciously covers his mouth, and Benny knows he must be at the second stanza. He's still reading—it's not that long, he must be rereading it. _I am the king of romance._

Smiling hugely, Benny asks, "Well?"

Ethan shoves the whole note into his mouths and starts chewing.

"Uh... Need more fiber in your diet?" Benny asks as he watches Ethan's face morph into disgust. He's really determined to chew that piece of paper. "Dude you might choke on that," Benny adds, worried how far Ethan's commitment will carry him.

Relenting, Ethan spits the wad out into his hand.

"Gross." Benny isn't sure what to think. Was it a good sign when your crush ate your love letter?

"It was embarrassing. I kinda panicked," Ethan admits abashedly. "Was there... Was there anything weird or just anything you didn't expect about the person that gave this to you?"

"What? No," Benny answers automatically. Then realizes that Ethan knows a guy wrote the love letter and doesn't want Benny to know that. _Why is he hiding?_

"But you got a love letter! That's totally awesome!" Benny says, fishing for more information.

"Yeah," Ethan seems disappointed. "No, you're right," Ethan decides brightly, "Someone likes me. That is awesome. I, uh, need to throw this away though." Ethan references the spitty paper wad in this hand.

Benny watches Ethan's back as he walks away. Great, Ethan has no idea he wrote that. And worse, Ethan thinks some _other_ guy wrote him a love letter. And worst, he's excited about that _other_ guy.

* * *

><p>Sitting down at his desk for homework, Benny distracts himself by brainstorming a new approach to the romance-Ethan problem. He tries one of those bubble mind-map dealies. All his ideas reek of horrible. He starts adding legs to the bubbles instead, turning them into toads. On the next page, Benny begins detailing himself passionately kissing Ethan in the rain. With spaceships in the background. And explosions.<p>

His computer chimes. It's Rory, video calling him. Benny rolls his eyes, accepting the call.

"Rory! How's it hanging?" Benny asks, drawing torpedo launchers onto a Federation-class dreadnought.

"I'm not hanging. Or even floating," Rory answers.

Benny snorts, "I can't tell Rory. Vampires. Cameras," he reminds Rory in exasperation. "You don't video call Elizabeth do you?" Benny asks looking up at Rory's room.

"Well I tried to once, but she said that the camera was brok- OH!" Rory exclaims in realization.

"Yeah Ror," Benny nods slowly. "Hey speaking of the fact you have a girlfriend, how did you get a girlfriend?" Benny asks. Advice is advice.

"Does the Ben-meister need help with the ladies? You've come to the right vampire-casanova! I asked Elizabeth out in art class. She said I'm a good draw-er, so I said I would love to draw her. That always works."

Benny looks down at the sketch he's spent at least an hour on and sighs. "Rory you've seen my drawing skills. I'm going to need something else."

"Girls love gifts. I gave Elizabeth a rat, and she liked it so much she's saving it in a cage in her room."

"Of course you did." Benny remarks, shaking his head. "Okay well I gave my crush a poem but... I didn't tell _her_ it was from me. I think I blew it." Benny pouts at the computer screen.

"No, no, that's awesome. Girls love secret admirers. Wait a couple of days and then just tell her you wrote it. You'll be so in," Rory's disembodied voice reassures him.

"Just tell _her?_" Benny needs to stop putting a strange emphasis on the female pronoun. "Any other amazing advice?"

"Always be yourself!" Rory cheerily touts.

"Helpful. And original," Benny replies sarcastically.

"You could give her something else? Like flowers or jewelry," Rory offers.

"And why would that turn out any better?" Benny asks. He has already chickened out twice; he can't keep trying the same thing. _Telling Ethan I like him shouldn't be harder than sending him nudes! What is wrong with me?_

"Oh I got ya. You need a believable excuse to give her a gift. Then if she hates you, instead of rejection, you'll get friend-zoned!" Rory sounds so enthusiastic.

Benny's heart sinks at idea of the prospect. _Still..._ "Actually that's a good idea! I gotta get started on the charms now." He's about to end the video call, when another thought occurs to him, "Rory whatever happens to that rat, don't eat it. Don't talk about eating it. Don't even think about eating it."

Benny ends the call and rushes downstairs to his grandmother's workroom.

* * *

><p>Friday comes again before the bracelet is done. While he was working on it, Benny had backed down from flirting with Ethan. For nearly a whole week. Sadly Ethan had only seemed more relaxed around Benny, if anything.<p>

It's a simple macrame bracelet with five gemstones that Benny charmed. The stones he chose each have a smooth flat side, where he carved the symbols, and a pointy raw end—like little mountains. With the gemstone spikes, the final bracelet is a little punk and hopefully masculine enough Ethan will wear it.

Sitting on the Morgan's couch next to Ethan, Benny worries the bracelet in his pocket. He's been waiting all day for the right time to give it to Ethan, but they really haven't had a moment alone. Even now Jane is on the armchair, watching TV with them. Well theoretically they were all doing homework.

Ethan has his computer in his lap, working on an essay: exploring themes in Moby Dick—something about the color white. Benny has the same essay and two sentences.

"Hey E," Benny clears his throat, "give me your arm." _Ugh Not smooth._

"What why?" Ethan asks, not looking up from his essay. The regular clatter of keys indicating strong progress on the assignment.

"I need to tie this onto you," Benny says obscurely. He's holding the bracelet by one end like holding a wild rat by its tail.

Ethan looks up and sees the offering. He's still not convinced, "Why do you _need_ to tie—what is that? Is it not just a bracelet?"

"It's a charm bracelet," Benny answers keeping his face as blank as possible. He feels like his stomach is being juiced. _He'll like it. He'll like it. He has to like it._

"Girls wear charm bracelets," Jane pipes up. _God dammit Jane!_

"No, not this one. It's a protection charm bracelet. For protection. It's spiky and badass," Benny defends his handiwork.

"Protection charm sounds good, assuming it's not going to turn me into a hedgehog or something." Ethan extends his arm towards Benny, letting his best friend wrap the bracelet around his wrist.

"I bet it attracts evil spirits!" Jane giggles.

"Oh come on! I've gotten so much better!" Benny protests, "And Grandma checked it over, so it'll work. Is this the arm you want it on? Cuz I'm gonna tie this so it can't come off," Benny informs him, already making the knot.

"Really?" Ethan asks incredulously, but makes no move to pull away.

"Yeah totally dude. Do you want to be not-protected ever?" Benny asks. He tugs the ends tight so the square knot will hold without slipping.

Ethan turns his wrist around and examines the gift, "Why the rainbow?" Ethan asks running his thumb along the gemstone mountain range.

_Oh fuck it is a rainbow!_ While a rainbow seems somewhat appropriate everything considered, Ethan lives in the closet despite having a support network that would in no way care. There had to be a reason for that. Benny watches Ethan for a negative reaction, but he seems mostly curious.

"Well mostly rainbow, you have blue and green switched," Ethan looks up at Benny for the answer.

"Each gemstone has a different protection spell," Benny launches into his explanation, "It's a comprehensive anti-baddie deterrent. Check this:" Benny points to each stone in turn, "Citrine for good luck. Blue topaz for health. Peridot for abundance, which can mean always having what you need in a fight. Hopefully also pizza. Amethyst for protection against magic attacks. And lastly rose quartz to ward off fear and gossip." _Also rose quartz attracts love._

"Those are protection spells?" Ethan asks.

"Totally. They're components of protection. Protection from bad luck is good luck. Protection from injury is health." After all the research and tweaking Benny did on these charms, he could talk about them all day.

"I get the idea. I feel luckier already." Ethan smiles and just immediately goes back to his essay.

_Dammit. Dammit. That's it? That's all a bracelet got me?_ Sullenly Benny returns his attention to his own essay. _Stupid essay._

There's a moment of TV white-noise filled silence before Jane suddenly demands, "Is this all we're doing tonight?"

"What else would we be doing?" Ethan asks. He absently rubs the pink gemstone on his new bracelet. Benny ducks his head to hide his smile.

"Well..." Jane begins, waxing persuasive, "There's a local trend on twitter about dead fish appearing in the cemetery. Maybe we could go check it out..." Oh crap, this is one of those Fridays that Jane pesters them all night.

"No Jane, we aren't going to look for trouble, in a cemetery, after dark." Ethan replies with finality. "Besides it's almost six. I should start dinner." Ethan sets his laptop on the coffee table and gets up, heads into the kitchen.

As much as Benny hated the idea of work, he read an article insisting it was romantic to help someone with their chores. Benny saves his now three-sentence essay, and follows Ethan into the kitchen. "Hey I'll help," he calls out.

Really?" Ethan pokes his head out from the fridge. He's pulling out ingredients. "You could chop."

An idea occurs to Benny, "As you wish." He waits for Ethan to say anything. Maybe he's too focused on what he's doing. He starts piling vegetables in front of Benny. Onion, mushrooms, garlic, and some leafy green thing. The twist-tie label reads, 'FRESH BASIL.'

"Start with the onion," Ethan instructs him before turning his attention to ground meat he's putting in a mixing bowl. Is he adding bread? He looks like he knows what he's doing. His confidence is evident in the strong lines of his posture.

"As you wish." Benny says it with more certainty this time. Ethan still doesn't catch on. _Maybe this was a dumb idea._

Benny watches Ethan cook, whirling around the kitchen. He occasionally takes the uneven vegetable chunks Benny produces and throws them in a pan with canned tomatoes. He's cooking the pasta in a large pot next to that, but it only requires occasionally stirring. Most of his time is spent rolling the meat into balls. It reminds Benny of the cookies Ethan made him last week. _Mmmm..._

The timer goes off for the pasta, so Ethan turns the heat off and picks the big pot off the stove. He has a colander waiting for him in the sink. The oven beeps twice indicating it's preheated.

"Benny can you stick the meatballs into the oven for me?" Ethan asks, his hands clearly full.

"As you wish," Benny answers.

Ethan stops, finally catching on, "Are you Buttercupping me?" His tone is demanding and incredulous. But the wheels haven't stopped turning. Ethan's brown eyes dart right and then down to the floor.

Benny watches Ethan silently.

When he looks up, his eyes seem darker, vulnerable, and filled with hope. His lips don't quite meet. Benny smiles encouragingly, certain anything he'd say would break this. Ethan looks down at the charm bracelet in wonder. The movement is jerky and tilts the pot further than safety allows. Hot salty water sloshes onto Ethan's hand and forearm.

Screaming out in pain, Ethan drops the pot. Still the very next thing he does is grab a towel to start cleaning up the mess.

Benny hops into action, "Nope. We're taking care of you first."

Wincing, Ethan lets himself be led to the sink, where Benny shoves his burned hand under cold tap water. While Ethan clearly came to some realization, and Benny hopes it's the one he wants, Benny finds himself falling back on autopilot because it's easier. He knows how to take care of someone with burns.

"Stay here." Benny leaves to retrieve the tingly cream—it's the first he's used this batch—from his messenger bag in the living room.

"What happened?" Jane asks when Benny appears.

"Ethan dropped the pasta. Burned himself. We got it under wraps." Benny informs her quickly. He would've blown her off completely except then she might've followed him back into the kitchen.

Benny pulls a stool out, "Come sit down E."

Ethan looks behind him to see what Benny wants before turning off the tap and complying. He holds his arm close to his chest protectively, not unlike a T-Rex. The fingers on his right hand are curled unnaturally. Benny can empathize with the tight painful feeling of burned skin.

Ethan sits on the stool patiently waiting. His eyes are glued to Benny. It's intense and sweet simultaneously.

Benny scoops a glob of cream onto his finger. "Here," he holds his left hand out for Ethan. The other boy gingerly places his injured hand in Benny's palm, and Benny gently daps tingly cream on the puffy red parts. Once it starts taking effect he can more thoroughly spread it around without hurting Ethan. Benny focuses on getting all of the burned areas—_fuck, the webbing between his fingers is red too—_but he swears he can _feel_ Ethan watching him. Waiting for something.

Swallowing heavily, Ethan forces himself to talk, "Benny I really hope I'm right about this..." His voice is quiet and breathy and fades away.

"Did you get burned on your stomach?" Benny interjects, noticing that Ethan's shirt is wet. Benny pulls the hem up enough to see that yep there's angry red burns there too.

Unceremoniously Benny pulls Ethan's shirt over his head. Ethan half-yelps at being manhandled. Benny roughly gets off one sleeve and the neck, banging up Ethan's nose in the process. Benny is careful, however, with Ethan's burned side. Holding the right sleeve of the t-shirt open, Benny directs the shirt past the gooped-up injury without letting anything touch it.

Benny places the shirt on the kitchen island behind Ethan. He wants to stay focused on helping Ethan, but he is so fucking breathtaking. Barefoot, barechested, the black band of his boxers just visible above the waist of his jeans. Ethan shifts on the stool, repositioning to sit straighter, shoulders back. Black fuzz on his flat stomach leading Benny's eyes downwards.

Benny crouches so he can see Ethan's burn better. It's not as bad on his side, thankfully. Benny softly rubs the cream on, concentrating on not letting his eyes wander.

Ethan's voice is _really_ breathy and insistent, "Am I right?"

Benny looks up at Ethan confused. Ethan sucks his bottom lip in, his eyes pleading. He won't say it. But he's giving Benny 'kiss me' eyes. Benny is sure his face is doing something stupid.

He nods, dumbly. At a loss for any other way to respond.

"Wow," Ethan breathes. His face blooms into the biggest most perfect smile. Even his eyes are sparkling. Ethan slides smoothly off the stool into Benny's lap wrapping his arms around Benny's neck. His lithe body moves so fluidly. Absolutely mesmerizing.

Benny shifts to accommodate Ethan's weight, planting his butt firmly on the floor. He stabilizes himself with a hand on the floor behind him. Is that his heart pounding? His face is flushed, in fact his whole body feels warm. And yet Benny craves the heat of Ethan's body touching him: his arms on Benny's shoulders, his left hand lightly resting between Benny's shoulder blades, even his body heat permeating through their jeans. They're so close.

Recognizing Ethan's hesitation, Benny shakes himself out of his stupor. Despite all of Ethan's normal confidence, despite the fact he just climbed into Benny's lap, he's waiting for Benny to initiate. _I can do that. No problem._

"Um the kissing part now?" The words fall out of his mouth stupidly. _Thank god Ethan already likes me._

Ethan exhales forcibly. "Yeah B."

They've both kissed girls before. Even with the experience, though, their first kiss is awkward. Benny sits up and Ethan leans forward at the same time smashing their faces together. Their noses compete for the same space when their lips do finally meet. Ethan pulls back. He's smiling. Benny growls—he can do better than this.

Benny cups Ethan's cheek with his free hand, tilting his head, directing him where he wants him. Ethan follows the guidance eagerly, softly moaning. Benny brushes his lips, already parted, against Ethan's mouth. Soft. Warm. Slowly he runs the tip of his tongue along the seam of Ethan's mouth, slipping in when the other boy's lips part. Ethan's body shudders when he groans this time.

Speaking against Benny's lips, Ethan asks dreamily, "Is this real life?"


	5. goodbye pants

**Thank you readers! This is the final chapter where everyone's dreams come true. I hope you enjoy it!**

**I obsessively reread reviews to motivate myself to keep writing. Thanks to everyone who kept me going:**

**Century's Rain: _preen_ You're so sweet! Thank you! :-D I was actually worried the previous chapter was missing something because I had to rush editing it. So it's great to hear that my writing is habit-forming :-p**

**MBAV Fan: Ha! Yes! Why didn't the bracelet work? You picked up on that! I was going to explain it last chapter, but it didn't fit. I'm glad you liked the poem. I thought about making it kinda you know terrible because I don't picture Benny having writing skills, but I decided Benny is smart enough that he could write a good poem with enough time and motivation.**

**Bethan Forever: So maybe Benny is a little too into his own dick, but I kinda think that's hilarious. Welcome to my weird sense of humor I guess? :-p Can they not do anything with Jane in the house? They probably shouldn't... You've been waiting very patiently for your cake (aka sex chapter) so enjoy :-D**

* * *

><p>Ethan had been so sure that he could take things slow. So how did he end up underneath Benny, naked and panting?<p>

Benny seems to realize Ethan is getting caught up in his thoughts. He lifts his head from the crook of Ethan's neck and kisses him open-mouthed. It's almost more like they're breathing together-their mouths open and pressed together but all the focus is on the slide of the their bodies against each other.

Maybe now wasn't the time to be questioning it.

* * *

><p>"Is this real life?" Ethan questions the luck that landed him in Benny's lap.<p>

"Is this just fantasy," Benny sings back to him with a teasing smile. He drops his other hand, using both arms to hold himself up. It's a stark shift in mood, like turning the lights to full brightness in a restaurant.

"Benny!" Ethan protests. The odd juxtaposition of Benny's big goofy self-satisfied grin when he's hanging around Benny's neck throws Ethan. It's intimate and casual. New but familiar.

Feeling suddenly awkward, Ethan climbs out of Benny's lap. Honestly, kissing his best friend is intense and unreal. And unsure how to even act right now, Ethan needs a moment for everything to sink in. Plus both the mess on the floor, and the fact Jane could walk in any second, weighs on the back of his mind.

"Did you not totally set me up for that?" Benny asks, allowing Ethan to move away freely.

His burns don't hurt anymore, just tingle lightly as if he had applied peppermint oil. But the goop prevents him from using his right hand. Using his good hand, Ethan drops a couple of towels on the floor to soak up the noddlely lake.

Ethan clears his throat, "Farm boy! Come here and put the spaghetti in the compost bin!"

Benny screws his face up in confusion.

Ethan is astounded at Benny's ignorance. "What, you mean you remembered the 'as you wish' thing but not that Buttercup ordered Wesley around and called him farm boy?"

"It's been a long time since I've seen the movie." Benny admits getting up to help Ethan with the mess.

He knows Benny is at best bisexual, and has only ever shown interest in women. "I'll be the girl if I get to order you around," Ethan says, the joke coming out strained. Ethan moves the towels around on the floor with his foot, and places the soaked towels in the sink with his left hand. He can't wring them out with one hand.

"I like you being a guy." Benny says, giving Ethan a quizzical look.

Ethan forces a smile trying to smooth over his lapse in confidence. "Good," he answers simply, taking a measured breath. It's still just Benny, after all. "Um, fill the pot up with water and I'll get more pasta."

Benny sets the filled pot on the stove and turns the heat on. Ethan retrieves the clear glass spaghetti jar from the pantry-it's good his mom keeps pasta fully stocked-but can't really open it one-handed.

"I need you to open this too." Ethan sets the jar on the counter next to the stove. Benny turns not to grab the pasta, but to grab Ethan and guides him into a gentle kiss. With both boys standing, Ethan realizes how much taller Benny is. He has to crane his head up and backwards to meet Benny's lips. _So worth it._

"Now go sit down," Benny says picking up the pasta jar, "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I keep letting you do stuff with an injured hand."

_Boyfriend..._ The word resonates inside Ethan's head. How could he possibly have been so lucky. "My bracelet, the 'as you wish' thing... Was that your way of telling me you liked me?" Ethan asks.

Benny is trying to shove the straight spaghetti into the hot water, his hands sinking as it slowly bends. "Yeah. Took you long enough," Benny says.

"Long enough? What else have you done?" Ethan asks, feeling butterflies all over again.

"I've been flirting with you for three weeks!" Benny complains. "The innuendo, touching you all the time, the back rub, the love letter you _ate!_" Benny looks accusingly at Ethan.

"You wrote that?" Ethan asks, but then it's immediately obvious that it was Benny. How many other uber-geeky guys were at WC high? "Do I-"

"So I tweeted on the deadfishdontgetburied tag," Jane marches in, looking at her phone and talking, "asking if anyone has seen dead fish anywhere else in Whitechapel-" She looks up. Her eyes catch on her brother's burns.

"What happened to you?!" Jane demands concerned.

"I accidently spilled boiling water on myself," Ethan explains, slightly disappointed at being interrupted. _It was going to happen sooner or later._

"Benny said you were burned, but did you pour the whole pot on yourself?" Jane asks. Not waiting for the answer she leaves.

"That was weird," Benny comments. He has gotten the pasta into the pot and is now staring at it as if it might misbehave.

"And she's the normal one. At least compared to us." Ethan remarks wryly.

Jane comes back with Benny's grimoire already open to a particular spell. "Hey that's mine!" Benny protests.

"Here, Benny do this spell," Jane puts the book on the kitchen island next to Ethan. Benny leaves his post at the stove to come look over the spell.

"So much for those protection charms," Jane winces sympathetically, taking a closer look at Ethan's hand.

Benny grumbles unintelligibly, but Ethan speaks over him, "No it worked."

"What are you basing that on?" Jane asks.

"The pink and yellow stones sparkled," Ethan explains rubbing the gemstone bumps on his bracelet. _My enchanted bracelet that Benny gave me because he __**likes**__ me._

"Wait you can see that?" Benny questions, his eyes still darting over the page in his grimoire. If nothing else, it's impressive that Benny had taught himself to read latin fluently.

"Yeah, It's just like any other spell." Ethan answers. Now that he thinks about it no one else has ever mentioned seeing magic...

"You can see spells?" Benny asks.

"Yes, I take it that's unusual?" Ethan asks interested with this discovery.

"Yes." Benny and Jane say together.

"That explains so much." Ethan says thoughtfully, "I always wondered why you guys cast spells in public, or the fact that no one notices. People really don't notice much in this town..."

"Alright I think I got this." Benny keeps one finger on the page to help his eyes track the final incantation while his other hand points at Ethan, his fingers relaxed but fully extended. "_Hoc ubi cremor operit corpus curare puer!_"

Ethan watchs the green stream of sparkles emit from Benny's hand and hit him squarely in the chest, subside, and a moment later his hand and side glow faintly green. A gentle warmth washes away the stiff achy sensation. As a nice bonus the spell has also absorbed the tingly cream on his skin, leaving it clean and only slightly pink.

"All better?" Benny asks gently brushing his thumb over the pink spot on Ethan's side. If the affectionate gesture isn't enough of a tip-off, Benny stoops down to lightly kiss Ethan when he nods. _Well we haven't had time to talk about PDA._

"Uh... the spell didn't require a kiss," Jane says somewhat pointedly.

Ethan pulls away from Benny, embarrassed. It's been like two seconds since Benny said 'boyfriend.' Ethan doesn't feel confident in explaining his relationship to a third party. But crap, Jane looks determined.

Ethan puts his shirt back on and gets up to check on the spaghetti. Benny didn't set a timer. The noodles still seem pretty stiff.

"I can't believe I've been using tingly cream for ages and didn't realize I had a healing booster spell that was designed to be used with it! How did you know about this Jane?" Benny asks.

"Wait can we go back to the part where you guys kissed?" Jane asks insistently.

"We're uh.. dating." Ethan says fussing with the spaghetti as a way to keep busy. The marinara is done, Ethan turns the burner off. The meatballs are still in the oven. Thankfully, for dinner's sake, Benny got them in the oven before everything happened. There's no timer on the meatballs either.

"Oh." Jane says surprised, "Do Mom and Dad know?" Of course that's her first question.

"No, but I will tell them when they get home." Ethan says slightly annoyed, trying to stay patient with his sister's understandable curiosity.

"Back to magic," Benny slides the book in front of Jane.

"I look through your grimoire when you're over and preoccupied playing videogames with Ethan. Someday I might be able to do these spells," Jane says.

"You have your own!" Benny complains.

"Yours was given to you by your family" Jane rants, "It's been passed down for generations. It already has a ton of spells. Your grandma helped me set up some spells in mine, but I have like 100 to your 1000. Although a lot of your spells are for really dumb stuff. I guess that runs in the family." Jane smiles insincerely sweetly to barb Benny.

Ethan sets plates of spaghetti in front of both Benny and Jane, "Bon appetit. Mushroom marinara with meatballs." Food is a great way to end arguments.

Ethan comes back with his own plate of food. He sits next to Benny but no closer than he normally would-a safe distance he's been hyper aware of since summer.

Benny takes a big bite, "Mmmmm. I could eat your cooking like everyday, forever." He says locking eyes with Ethan. It's so overly saccharine, it could be a joke.

"Oh god, I'm eating in my room." Jane leaves with her dinner. A second later she comes back and grabs the grimoire, carrying it under her plate. "You won't be missing this tonight."

"Jane knows, and I have to tell my parents, but I'd be fine with keeping it secret otherwise." They wouldn't be the first openly gay couple at their high school, but that didn't mean Benny would feel comfortable with that kind of change in their lives. They could take it slow.

"I wouldn't!" Benny says through a full mouth, accidently spitting out little pieces of chewed up spaghetti. _That's the love of my life._

"Okay, so we tell everyone," Ethan muses.

"Why have you been keeping it secret anyways?" Benny asks. "I thought we didn't keep secrets."

"I wasn't," Ethan says defensively. "I just didn't tell anyone."

"There's a difference?" Benny asks.

"Well it didn't matter if I wasn't dating anyone. And I was only interested in..." Ethan clears his throat, "in you and... if you knew I was gay then it would've been obvious that I liked you, and that would've made everything weird." Ethan feels increasingly self-conscious as he continues to talk.

"No, it really wasn't. Besides if I was straight, I would just be flattered that you liked me," Benny insists.

"Maybe. But it could've driven a wedge between us." Ethan pauses for a moment, thinking how to explain it, "Like you wouldn't mean it, but you'd start shying away from anything that felt intimate, emotional intimate. And friends are close that way, to some extent."

How awful would it be to lose your best friend because you were in love with them?

Benny seems to agree and hugs him sideways, squeezing him hard. Ethan can feel his friend's head shake 'no' against his shoulder. Benny kisses his cheek and continues a trail of small kisses to Ethan's lips. Ethan has a mouthful of dinner, but Benny presses a kiss onto his closed mouth anyway. He grunts protest.

Benny waits for him to finish chewing, still hugging him. When he shallows, Benny drags him half off his stool. His plush mouth sweet and imploring. Ethan closes his eyes focusing on softness of Benny's kisses, the strength of Benny's arms around him.

Breaking away, his boyfriend commands, "Eat faster." Following his own advice, he hurriedly shovels food into his mouth.

Ethan almost falls to the floor; he was leaning heavily on Benny. "Why?"

Benny tries to grunt the words through his chipmunk cheeks, but Ethan can't make heads or tails of it. It's a trivial use of his special ability, but Ethan does have a way to immediately find out what his boyfriend is trying to communicate. Any skin contact will do, but Ethan runs his fingers through Benny's wild hair.

There's always a flash of light. Benny and Ethan are sitting in the same positions in the kitchen, but everything-including Benny-seems both hyperreal and dreamlike simultaneously. This is the surface layer of Benny's mind.

Benny startles, but recognizes where they are. Ethan has used this ability as a discrete way to talk to Benny when surrounded by bad guys.

"What were you trying to say?" Ethan asks him, drawing his focus.

"Hurry up and finish. I want to go up to your room and do stuff." Ethan is powerful and sometimes he unintentionally picks up on deeper thoughts-especially with Benny. And that's why he hears the rest of Benny's thought, "_Like fuck you._"

Ethan breaks the connection freaked out.

Benny still has his mouth full. He works impatiently on chewing his food. Ethan takes his own, small bite, avoiding Benny's gaze.

Finally able to talk, "Are you mad at me? I thought you'd want sex," Benny asks confused and a little nervous.

"We've been dating for like 20 minutes. Shouldn't we wait?" Ethan asks.

"Dude, we've known each other since we were in elementary! Normal dating rules don't apply," Benny reasons.

"We can still make-out," Ethan offers, feeling shy to say the words. He _does_ want to do that other thing, like really super badly, but he also wants to be responsible.

"I'm done." Benny announces getting up to scrape his plate off into the compost.

"Mm!" Ethan objects, taking another big bite. He's still only like half done with his plate.

Impatient, Benny scoops Ethan, fork in mouth, into his arms and carries him out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Ethan clutches his arms around Benny's neck to stabilize himself, but it's unnecessary. Benny carries Ethan without issue; something Ethan hadn't thought Benny was capable of.

Ethan's door is ajar; Benny bumps it open with his shoulder. He sets Ethan down in the middle of the room. Ethan tosses his fork onto his desk. "You just carried me up the stairs!"

"You know I've been working out." It was true. The boys had decided that they needed battle skills. Ethan sprinted, but Benny was more into weights. Benny shuts the door and places what Ethan assumes is a locking spell on the knob. He doesn't verbalize the spell but Ethan can see the blue sparks skittering along the door.

"Yeah." Ethan agrees flatly.

Benny picks Ethan up again, hooking his arms under his butt and dumps him on the bed on his back. Climbing up after Ethan, he secures Ethan's wrists with one hand above his head. "And, I'm strong enough to pin you."

Ethan's nerves melt into arousal. "You're- You're into that?" he stammers.

"I'm into what you're into." Benny answers seductively, and starts kissing him.

"What?" Benny moves his kisses to his Ethan's neck, letting him talk, "How'd you know- I mean i'm not _that_ into it... I mean, Mmmng" He stretches his body, arching into Benny. "This is really hot," Ethan finally admits. Pinned, stretched out, Benny on top of him, kissing him...

"I saw it in your browser history," Benny whispers into Ethan's ear letting his lips drag against the cartilage.

Ethan moans before his brains registers the words, "What? My browser history?"

"Yeah." Benny gets out between kisses. "That's how I found out you're gay and that you like me. You had bunch of gay porn and pictures of me in your history."

_Oh god._ Ethan had been so careful to clear his history every time. And the very one time he forgot was when Benny had decided to snoop. Ethan's face, neck, and ears burn. Benny smiles knowingly and lightly kisses Ethan's cheeks and neck.

"I'm sorry. You were probably really creeped out," Ethan says tentatively.

"Are you kidding me?" Benny sits up away from Ethan, pulling his shirt off. Ethan has snuck glances on occasion, but seeing his full chest. Ethan groans involuntarily. "I never would've know otherwise. And thinking about you jerking off to _clothed_ pictures of me is what inspired me to send you that dick pic," Benny arches his eyebrows enticingly. "Which, you never told me whether you liked it or not."

Ethan slides his hands up to Benny's hips, only letting his fingertips touch Benny's warm skin. "You sent that on purpose?" That was better than the alternative. "I um, liked it a lot. I stared at it a lot." Benny's smile keeps getting bigger. He's playing with the hem of Ethan's shirt. "It was kinda like being hit in the head with a hammer. I couldn't think," Ethan recounts.

Benny chuckles, "My fists aren't the hammer. The hammer, is my penis." Benny recites amused. Ethan groans with mock exasperation. "I want your shirt off," Benny changes the subject, biting his bottom lip.

"Okay," it's starting to occur to him that Benny knows how much that affects him. "But let me do it," Ethan adds, remembering how roughly Benny had undressed him earlier.

Ethan sits up and hooks his thumbs into his collar pulling the shirt over his head. Benny's hands run down Ethan's shoulders pushing him to lie down again. Ethan enjoys being picked up and moved around more than he had imagined. It was as reassuring as it was hot. There was no doubt what Benny wanted when he took charge.

Benny lowers himself onto Ethan, moaning when their chests touch. The skin contact is addictively delicious.

"In your poem, you said my smile... Does it really make you..." Ethan is having trouble getting words out.

"Hard?" Benny says. "Like I am now?" Benny adds lightly thrusting his crotch into Ethan. Through their jeans it's difficult to really tell, but yeah, that's Benny. "Basically everything about you makes me hard," Benny purrs.

Benny doesn't stop thrusting into Ethan. The slow rhythm becomes as much about pressing his bulge into Ethan as sliding their bare chests together. So much skin contact. Ethan moans overwhelmed. How could something so simple feel like this? The unhurried, intentional movements are hard and not hard enough. Benny's abdominals tense under Ethan's hands.

Benny breaks the contact, sitting up and starts undoing his pants.

"Benny what are doing?" Ethan asks half-dazed. His resolve to take things slow becoming increasingly weak.

"The zipper is hurting me." Benny pouts. "Besides you've already seen Benny Jr."

"Oough no Benny. We're not naming body parts," Ethan protests.

"But Benny Jr. likes you." Benny argues, his hands still on his zipper.

Ethan covers his face with his hands.

"Okay nevermind, doesn't matter. Pleeease say it's okay for me to take my pants off." Benny jostles Ethan with a hip thrust.

"Yeah okay." Ethan relents.

Benny climbs off the bed to more easily remove his jeans, "You should probably take your pants off too." Benny adds hopefully.

Ethan props himself on his elbows to watch Benny undress, "Take them off for me?"

Benny slides his boxers down with his jeans. Oh. Oh that happened. Benny's member bobs in the air. Ethan's brain short circuits with lust. Naked Benny. Strong and lean and very aroused Benny.

"Anything you want, baby." Benny climbs on top of Ethan.

Somehow this procedure involves Benny's mouth. Messy wet kisses explore Ethan's stomach as he fiddles with the button.

"Boxers too?" Benny asks, his lips moving against Ethan. When Ethan stalls, he adds, "It'll feel good." He gently nips Ethan's belly.

"Ahh-h, yes." Ethan lifts his hips so Benny can tug his pants past his butt. Benny raises the waistband of Ethan's boxers as he shimmies the clothing down, so he doesn't hurt Ethan's very erect penis.

"Oh fuck, E. You're gorgeous." Benny's voice is husky with arousal. Ethan's pants are still around his knees, but Benny leans down again and licks along Ethan's hipbone, purposely teasing. Benny might have an oral fixation.

Anticipation throbs through Ethan's body. Just being exposed is thrilling. His hips buck up into Benny's face.

"Mm-mm you like that." Ethan can hear the smile in Benny's voice. His slobbery kisses migrate closer to Ethan's manhood.

"Ohow" Ethan can't keep quiet and his body won't stay still. "Wait, slow down."

Growling-_Holy hell that's hot_-Benny retreats and finishes pulling Ethan's jeans off.

Benny crawls back up Ethan's body placing kisses along the way. He resumes the rocking motion from before, but now they're both naked. Engorged with blood Benny's boner is hot, hotter than Ethan's stomach, and so solid. It's a stupid observation, Ethan knows what an erect penis feels like. But this is Benny.

He's bucking into Benny, trying to get closer. Craving friction. Especially when Benny's cock rubs directly against Ethan's. He grabs Benny's ass pulling him down with every thrust-his glutes tense each time. Feeling his boyfriend's strength is intoxicating.

"Aauw fuck," Benny moans. He's losing vocabulary.

Ethan is losing himself in Benny-he only exists where Benny is pressed against him. Braced on his forearms, Benny controls his movements. Going hard and fast, then soft, just feeling each other's bodies. It's all encompassing. All consuming. Like his chest is too tight and his throat too open.

The sensation intensifies. Ethan feels so needy-he's close. Wrapping himself up around Benny any way he can. Benny is either close himself, or can tell Ethan is, he speeds up and doesn't stop. The feeling coils up in Ethan's gut tighter and tighter. Ethan comes, his mind blanking momentarily. Benny slams into Ethan coming himself.

He stills for a second before flopping onto Ethan like a flaccid pancake. with the heat of the moment past, the sweat on their bodies is cooling. "Benny you're heavy, get off me," Ethan does his best to shove Benny away. He succeeds in rolling a grumbly Benny over. "And we're gross," Ethan adds looking at his and Benny's stomachs.

Ethan climbs out of bed, thinking what he can use to clean them off. _Kleenex, of course._ Ethan grabs the box off his desk and pulls a couple of tissues out for himself before lobbing the box in Benny's direction.

"Why are you over there?" Benny complains from the bed.

Admittedly Ethan crashed after the emotional high. He knows the low point will fade; he can just distance himself until that happens.

Ethan wipes the white gunk off his himself, tossing the waded kleenex into the trashcan next to his desk. His boxers are on the floor. He puts them back on quickly, not looking at Benny.

"E you're acting weird," Benny says getting up the bed. He wraps his arms around Ethan from behind. The lethargic heaviness throws Ethan off balance-he catches himself with a quick step.

"Yeah I know." Ethan says evenly. There's nothing Benny can do about this. "It's nothing. It's stupid."

"Ugh, Ethan!" Benny whines, his arms tightening around Ethan's torso. He pivots his weight, which drags Ethan back towards the bed. Benny slings him into the messy nest of covers and climbs in after him. He's clean but still naked. "You have to tell me! I'm your boyfriend." His soft brown eyes are concerned and pleading. "Besides," and now he's smiling, "I know a lot about stupid."

Ethan laughs despite himself. Stalling, he rubs his face. "It's just... I've wanted this, you, for so long. And every time I thought about it, I had to remind myself over and over that it would never happen... It doesn't even seem possible now."

"Even after the hottest, most incredible not-sex we just had?" Benny asks. There's a tenseness in his voice.

Ethan nervously laughs at himself, "Yesterday I thought you'd be grossed out by kissing me and now I'm worried... that... um..." Ethan breathes out through his nose, feeling horrible for just thinking that Benny would be more interested in sex than him.

Benny waits for Ethan to say more, but Ethan doesn't feel capable. Speaking into the pause, Benny says quietly, "I already know I love you, E."

The affirmation hits him like truck smashing his heart, in a good way. He can feel himself tearing up. _Dammit, I am not crying._

Benny freaks out, rapidly kissing Ethan all over his face. "I." Kiss. "mean." Kiss. "it." Kiss. "I." Kiss. "Love." Kiss. "You." Kiss. "Love you." Kiss. "So." Kiss. "Much." Kiss. "Please stop." Kiss. "Crying." Kiss.

Ethan finds Benny's lips, initiating a real kiss. He can feel warm wetness sliding down the side of his head into his ear. "I love you too," Ethan says, shaky from the catharsis.

"Right good, I'm not letting go of you for the rest of the night," Benny claims emphatically.

Ethan smiles, melty with good feelings. Benny can do anything-makes everything feel magical.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! If you liked my story consider leaving a review or favorite (it's like food for us writers!).<strong>

**Now that the story is over, I would love to know what was your favorite chapter (or moment) and why!**


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